Melting a cold heart
by Heartless demon wolf
Summary: Derpy Hooves is a mare with a dark past, as such she has never allowed any pony, save her sister Dinky Doo to bond with her. But what is she to do when a shivering, left with nowhere else to go Doctor Whooves appears at her doorstep? She has allowed him to stay for four days, but her words and heart are colder then any rain, is it even worth it for the Doctor to help her find love?
1. Day One: The bastard stallion

**Author's Note: Keep in mind, this wil be only four chapters, short but meaningful, I swear, be honest in your reviews if you please, hoping you all enjoy, peace.**

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To say Derpy Hooves, a gray furred Pegasus mare with a blond colored mane and  
tail and crossed golden colored eyes as well as seven small blue bubbles on her  
flank as her Cutie Mark was surprised was a bit of an understatement…..ok, a lot  
of one.

So much that she needed a smoke, and felt a headache coming on now as her younger sister, Dinky Doo with her light gray coat and small nubbed horn marking her as a unicorn and yellow colored eyes as well as her blond colored mane and tail with no Cutie Mark on her flank held one of the biggest smiles a filly could muster at her older sister who had to keep from rubbing her forehead with her forehooves.

"I did great right, Ditzy? Did I not do great?" Dinky spoke as the gray mare heaved an audible sigh hearing her little sister nickname for her before looking at the stallion, an Earth Pony to be exact with a brown, very soaked saddle bag on his back that was soaked to the bone because of the large heavy downpour in Ponyville that has been happening for four days straight.

The stallion before her was quite handsome she had to admit, brown colored coat and short, brown mane with the same color tail but a bit longer and mesmerizing brown eyes with an hourglass Cutie Mark on his flank smiled sheepishly at the mare before him, before a hacking cough forced him to break eye contact.

Derpy scowled, she hated when her sister did something without letting her know, of course, it would make sense to help somepony out when such awful weather was in the town and was the only sensible thing to do as her younger sister was not heartless, she had never been raised to be such, unlike herself who learned a bit later to never just trust somepony just because they smiled at you.

She had been forced into the streets by her parents because she had hung out with the wrong crowd during Flight School.

Smoking, drinking, doing drugs, she knew that Gilda the Griffon and Rainbow Dash along with a few other ponies that she was with were never a good choice but she had ignored it and paid the ultimate price because of it.

Getting kicked out and almost being with a foal twice but having a miscarriage on both was her luck with her being so young, the age of seventeen, now she was twenty one years of age.

Of course she regrets it, but because of her crossed eyes that she had since birth many ponies would not take her seriously and her so called 'friends' never gave a shit about her, save for Rainbow Dash who helped her get her mail job and bring her to Ponyville but Derpy was still on edge and angry what the cyan mare put her through and what she had allowed of herself.

Her parents had died two years ago on a train ride to visit the Crystal Kingdom and she had been forced to take care of younger sister who while young, was very, very brave and had accepted their parents death unlike Derpy who had gotten drunk and cried her eyes out for the last two weeks and now, now she had to make the choice of helping this grown stallion who might have caught a cold or worse because he may have been too stupid to stay out of the rain.

"Thank, thank you, fair lady. I did not expect such hospitably from such a young-"

"Cut the bullshit, what kind of adult goes out into the rain when this damn town has been raining for four days?" Derpy interrupted harshly as the stallion cringe from her cruel tone, not used to it but it was to be expected from such horrible weather.

"Um….I apologize, allow me to introduce myself, I am Doctor Whooves, you may just call me Doctor if you wish, I have just come into this town from a train ride from Appleloosa which I been working with a young mare who deals with cherries, saving up enough bits to move here and have not been given the chance to look at a place to stay, for obvious reasons, been out in the hard falling rain for three hours now and did not get the news until the last second, I'm truly sorry, Miss?"

Derpy blinked in a hint of sympathy before her eyes hardened and she used her right wing to grab a Diseased Stallion cigarette from her right ear and her tail to grab a lone match near her kitchen table, lighting the match before doing the same with the tobacco and inhaled deeply before exhaling out gray smoke from her nose then sat down on the floor.

Closing her eyes she opened them to see her sister and the Doctor staring at her to speak as she sighed then said with a fake smile.

"Derpy, Derpy Hooves, this is my little sister Dinky…..look, trust me, it's going to be tough out there once the rain stops, sorry about your saddle bag and your health but to tell the truth you only entered day one of this downpour, you are not going to be able to get a chance at finding a house, let alone a damn job until it's over, Doctor." Derpy said as soft as she could before she blew a large gray cloud of smoke from her nose which the stallion waved away with a forehoof and cough.

"I understand, Miss Hooves and I do not mean to be much of a bother but if I could be so kind to ask for a bit of-"

"No."

"Sis…come on, look at him, he's soaked and he has nowhere else to go, we can't be so cruel to just send him back out into the rain, it's freezing." Dinky defended the Doctor causing him to blink in surprise from the young filly's angry tone.

But Derpy had had enough, no one gave a shit about her when she was thrown out, no one but Rainbow Dash but that was only to redeem herself from the guilt that clawed at her heart, they both knew that.

So why should she lend a hoof to a grown stallion who she did not even know, for all she knew, this bastard could be a murderer.

"Dinky, that's enough, go to your room, let grown ponies talk alone." Derpy growled at her younger sister while taking a longer drag of her smoke before blowing it out of the right side of her mouth.

"But-"

"Now!" Derpy shouted as the scared, small filly ran up to her room with tears running down her face as the mare then turned her eyes towards the Doctor who pawed at the floor nervously.

"Miss Hooves, honestly I mean no-"

"Shut it! Listen, I know it's a bit harsh and cruel for me to do this, but I'm having a harder time taking care of me and my sister, we don't got enough for a damn stallion who was to bucking stupid to not know what the weather was going to be in the town he was going to ahead of time, life's tough, oh well." Derpy voice as cold as ice as she spoke before she used her tail to take her smoke out and put it out then got up from the floor and walked towards the stallion who gulped a bit afraid of the mare with her crossed golden eyes in front of him, the left looking right at him, the right sliding to the side as neither held any pity towards the male in front of her.

"Miss Hooves, please if you just-"

"And stop calling me Miss Hooves, damn it, I am not my mother." Derpy snapped causing the Doctor to cut off his words before he continued with a nervous breath.

"Derpy, please….I have the bits to repay you, I can help you-"

"I don't need your bucking HELP!" Derpy shouted causing the Doctor to freeze in fear as he waited a total of five minutes before speaking again.

"I…I meant no disrespect, honest. But I could get very sick out in that freezing rain, I could die from hypothermia, please, all I'm asking is for a few days of rest, no more. I could pay you for your help if you wish and will only eat what you make and sleep where you wish, nothing more, I swear." He said softly as she turned her head away thinking hard before taking another deep breath before replying.

"Fine, four days only, no more. Try anything with me and my sister and I'll kick your ass and send you to the hospital, and that's not a threat, it's a promise, got it, Doc?" she spat with malice as the Doctor allowed a small smile to grace his face before he nodded.

"Good, now take off your damn saddle bag and go take a shower, you stink. But first, go get me my smokes from my room, then after your shower and my smoke we are going to lay down some ground rules, towels are upstairs in the hallway to the left in the closet, shower is to the right, don't get lost and bring me my smokes quick, Doc which should be on my dresser to the left and my door is the same way." Derpy snapped as the Doctor saluted with a forehoof before quickly trotting out the kitchen to the stairs as Derpy sighed loudly, the buck had she just gotten herself into?


	2. Day Two: Praying to silent gods

**Author's Note: Keep in mind that Derpy is acting so cruel because of how she has been raised, you would to if you had such a dark lifestyle.**

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By day two, Doctor Whooves honestly did not know how to feel about this mare who house he was staying in. Last night after she had her smoke and he his shower she had let down some rather blunt if a bit cruel ground rules.

*Flashback*

"One: Don't go for a snack, or eat anything that the two of us are not eating, I don't need your damn bits and we don't waste food in this house, got that?" Derpy growled while holding a bottle of red wine in her left wing as the Doctor nodded.

"Two: We will be stuck in this bucking house for four days, so don't just think you can do whatever the buck you want. If you're bored, go hang out with my twelve year old sister if you must but don't be entering our rooms or shit, you're sleeping on the couch, got that, Doc?"

She sneered as the stallion thought that was fair, after all this was not his house, he had no say of anything but his brown saddle bag and stood up straighter to pay more attention to her as she took a long drink from the bottle before burping loudly and narrowing her eyes at her guest.

"Three: Don't ever, EVER touch my drink or smokes, do that and I'll kill you, I'm not kidding, Doctor Whooves, you hear ME?" She shouted her last words due to being a bit buzzed from the alcohol as the Doctor nodded his head roughly, hoping he does not have a whiplash later for it.

Derpy snorted before putting down her bottle and getting a cigarette from her packet on the kitchen table while the Doctor sat across from her, lighting a match with her tail she lit her second smoke for the night before inhaling and blowing the gray smoke out her mouth grinning darkly in amusement as the stallion before her coughed.

"Derpy, I would never smoke, being in the farm I was, it would have affected my lungs and body to the point where it would ruin my chance at the cherry farm if had had continued such a habit, and besides, it's addicting, wasting bits and health." He answered glaring at the mare that rolled her eyes but did not comment.

"And besides, why can we not just spend a bit of time getting to know one another, we are adults and-"

"And what, you thought you could watch me get drunk then get me in bed and tap this? You stallions are all the same." She grunted in annoyance as the Doctor hated how she just jumped to conclusions.

"NO! Derpy, I meant that we could maybe play some cards, listen to the radio, talk, you know….get to know one another, I'll even have a glass or two of wine with your permission if you don't wish to drink alone." He stated calmly as the mare narrowed her eyes trying to keep her thoughts from the last time a stallion had drunk with her and ended up on his couch with him, she hated being taken advantage of, but it was her own fault for trusting the bastard.

"No, no drinking with me….look, you want to 'hang out' with me, then I guess we can play some cards or some shit, but don't expect me to just start crying on your bucking shoulder as you demand to hear my damn life story, Doc." She said harshly as he could do nothing more than nod.

*Flash back ends*

Doctor Whooves learned that Derpy Hooves was no sad, feel sorry for herself kind of mare who needed a stallion in her life, something about her past would never allow it and while he admired her independence, her way of speaking was a bit to cruel for a normal pony, he wanted to know her, but how could that happen when she wanted nothing to do with him?

As such, with nothing for the three to do all day but Dinky to play in her room, Derpy to drink while listening to the radio about the Wonderbolts re-run races and smoke every two hours or so, and the Doctor to look at magazines about houses or jobs that he would need to look for after the storm was over Derpy got started on dinner early, it being four p.m.

The Doctor was looking at quite a cheap apartment near Sugarcube Corner for only six hundreds bits that had a kitchen, abate small, living room, one bed room and bath but had utilities included with rent, he thought that was very reasonable with him only having one thousands bits and did not find any other better offer in the newspaper when he smelt the amazing cooking of boiled carrots, cabbage in a pot with corn, mashed potatoes and brown gravy being made by the owner of the house, his stomach growling loudly as he chuckled.

"Dinky, TIME FOR DINNER!" Derpy shouted to the filly upstairs who had muffled a reply in return as she rolled her eyes and turned her head to her guest who was walking into the kitchen while she was cutting the carrots on a cutting board with careful forehooves and a short knife then moving to the cabbage, the corn already cooking in the green pot with the boiling water.

Her long blond tail stirring the brown gravy in the pot with a wooden spoon across from her as it then switched to the potatoes on the stove, her wings being very gentle to set three plates on the table to the left of her while she ignored the stallion who stood awkwardly in the kitchen.

"Um….would you like some help?" he asked with a cough as she gave him a blank look before narrowing her eyes.

"Does it look like I do, Doc? Wash your hooves then sit your ass down, you might buck my hard cooking up with your cherry 'skills' but be sure to get three glasses from the cabinet to your left." She mocked with a harsh chuckle as the Doctor frowned but did as he was ordered as he saw Dinky rush down stairs with a crayon drawing in her mouth.

She set it on the table before going to wash her hooves and then sat on the chair after using her forehooves to push her self-up to it and smiled at the Doctor with a proud grin as he got water for all three of them in the glasses, with Derpy's permission of course.

"Look what I drew, Doctor." She said pushing the child made drawing towards the stallion who looked it over with a small smile, it was a picture of her with her sister and two other, bigger and older looking ponies in it with a sun shining above, clouds and a blue sky with it and green grass with pretty flowers below their hooves with two small trees to the left of them.

"That really good Dinky, who is the other two ponies?" he asked softly as the young filly's smile slowly disappeared into a sad frown.

"Our mom and dad…..they died in a train ride to the Crystal Empire two years ago and –"

Her voice was stopped by a loud bang on the table in front of them making the two jumps to see the crossed but angered eyes of Derpy glaring at her sister as she set the pot of soup then mashed potatoes with gravy before them.

"Enough Dinky, it's time to eat so stop letting our guest know of something that does not concern him." She ordered in a dark tone as Dinky broke eye contact with her sister and did not reply.

"Doctor, would you like to say grace?" the filly asked in a small voice as she ignored her sisters annoyed grimace and looked at the stallion with wide, innocent eyes.

He allowed a small smile to appear on his snout before he turned towards Derpy who rolled her eyes.

"Something wrong, Derpy?" he asked with a hint of annoyance.

"Did I say something was wrong? Say your damn prayers with her and let's eat already, I did not waste all this hard work just for it to turn cold." She snapped causing him to raise an eye brow in confusion and a bit of surprise.

"Don't you want to join us?" he questioned as she was about to open her mouth no doubt to swear or tell him to mind his own business before her sister answered his question for her.

"Ditzy does not believe in the gods, she never wants to pray for our meals or before bed." Dinky said in a sad tone causing the Doctor to look at the mare in shock.

"You don't believe in the gods, Derpy? Celestia, Luna, Cadance, any of them, even Discord? You don't go to church on Sunday either?" he asked with his mouth and eyes opened wide.

"No, I don't believe in your damn gods, Doctor, I would expect that you being a stallion of 'medicine' would understand but I guess not. Why the buck should I waste my time praying to immortals who did not do shit as I struggled all through my school years, or watched my father beat on my mother then come and beat on me when I was merely seven years old?

Why the buck should I care about them, when they don't' give a damn about ME!" Derpy shouted with tears brimming at the corner of her eyes but she wiped them away with a hoof and scowled at the two to dare question her.

"Miss…Derpy. I know it's hard to believe but the gods are there for us. Princess Celestia and Luna are as real as you and me, so is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, we don't have to bow and pray to them but we can at least-"

"Look, Doctor, if you want to tell all that to my sister as you to pray for your meal which I made all by myself and as you go to bed be my guest, but don't you dare try to tell me what I can and can't believe in, in MY own house, understand?!" Derpy screamed at the stallion that backed his body away farther from the cruel mare as he swallowed then nodded.

Dinky near having tears in her eyes as she put her forehooves together, bowed her head and prayed to which ever god would listen to the little filly, the Doctor doing the same as Derpy rolled her eyes and began eating her hard worked meal.

"Thank you Celestia, for this stay, thank you for this food, bless our friends and our family in the gods name we pray, amen." She ended with a small smile then wiped her tiny tears away with a hoof and along with the Doctor, who had opened his eyes, begins to eat.

After supper in which Dinky was washing the dishes as punishment for questioning her sister, the Doctor walked to the living room and saw Derpy lying on the tan colored couch that was his bed, smoking a cigarette as she let out a deep sigh.

He was very cautious to not anger her as he spoke his words carefully "You know, I understand that you don't like doing certain things your sister does being grown, but don't you think you can humor her, she's still your sister after all and only a filly." He spoke softly to her while sitting on the other side of the couch trying to get as much space as he could because she was laying on it.

Derpy opened one eye while blowing out a cloud of gray smoke from the left side of her mouth then removed the tobacco with her tail to speak calmly.

"You don't understand what life was like for us, Doc….you could never understand. I'm teaching her to stand up on her own four hooves, to not be weak and worthless around a stallion like my mother, you don't get what our lives were like….so don't try, cherry boy." She snapped as she rolled over and put her four hooves on the ground, taking one last drag of her smoke before putting it out on an ashtray to the right of her along with the long brown table on which it rested.

"Then maybe I can understand if you let Me." he argued back to the mare who smiled a small smile and let out a deep breathe.

"Don't count on it, Doc…don't count on it." She answered as she went upstairs to get sleep wishing that she could go to work but for the next four days, no ponies could even work outside like her job required so she could not escape her annoying and religious guest.

The Doctor frowned watching her walk to up the stairs to her room before heaving a deep breath and looked at the small, gray filly that had gotten done with the dishes and stood before the stallion with a small smile.

"Doctor, would you mind praying with me tonight, I don't want my sister's soul to go to Tartarus." She said softly as the stallion chuckled softly then nodded, before resting his front hooves on the table along with Dinky, closed his eyes and prayed to Princess Luna for Derpy Hooves soul, he did not know how….but he would do what he could to heal the mare from her dark past and cold, cruel heart, though it would take some time.

After their prayer, Dinky thanked the Doctor and went to bed as he laid on the couch he had ben assigned and with his long blue blanket wrapped around him along with a small tan pillow, closed his eyes and went to sleep, wondering what it was that could cause such a beautiful mare to act as harsh as a timberwolf.


	3. Day Three: The Doctor's Tale

**Author's Note: Got Dodge Junction confused with Appleloosa, it's been fixed LOL and my bad:P Enjoy.**

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"DINKY HOOVES, WHERE THE BUCK ARE MY CIGARETTES?" the loud, very angry scream of Derpy Hooves jolted the Doctor awake from his peaceful slumber on the couch, being day three until the very powerful storm was over, much to the Doctor's dismay.

He liked Dinky, she was really wise for such a young filly and never judged anypony for their choices or mistakes, Derpy on the other hoof was an entire hoof full all by herself, it hurt the Doctor to say it but if she did not have such a sharp attitude to every creature in her path including her sister then maybe she could be a real decent friend, if one could also ignore her drinking and smoking, but each pony was their own animal, it was not his place to judge.

Even more so because his past and his own choices that were not so, well….innocent to say the least, that was for sure.

"They should be on the kitchen table, sis!" the shrill yell of Dinky answered back, the Doctor turning his head to the left to see the older mare rush down the stairs and to the table, opening the carton with a hoof and trying to get one out with her two front hooves, shouting in rage as it did not come out.

The Doctor yawned, before he turned his whole body left and planting his four hooves on the wooden floor, walked in a sleepily haze towards the gray mare who had successfully gotten a cigarette out and with a huff of frustration looked for her matches.

"Everything alright, Derpy?" He asked softly before the mare turned her angered glare at the stallion that had grown quite used to her anger and ignored it as Derpy rolled her eyes replied with an annoyed hiss.

"Can't find my damn matches, leave me alone." She spat making him scowl at her tone before he sighed loudly causing her to snap her head towards him which she had turned to look for her matches again.

"Got something to say, DOC?!" she shouted causing him to jump and shake his head rapidly before he nodded his head to the kitchen counter top where the matches rested making Derpy snort and with her mouth, removing the cigarette first she grabbed one then used her tail to lit it and her tobacco before blowing smoke out of the right side of her mouth.

Turning her body towards the Doctor, Derpy looked him in the eyes before speaking almost softly "You're not as useless as I thought, Doctor…thanks." She spoke making him smile before Dinky's voice interrupted their 'moment'.

"Can you make breakfast, Ditzy?" she called making the mare snap back to her cold nature and roll her eyes , blowing out a line of gray smoke from her nose she shouted back.

"NO! Make your own damn breakfast, your twelve years old, Dink, better learn how to cook!" she screamed back as the sound of hoofsteps sounded from upstairs and the little filly was coming down the steps, Derpy walking towards the stairs herself.

"Please, sis?" Dinky pleaded as Derpy narrowed her eyes and walked slowly upstairs before replying.

"Buck no, get to cooking little mare, and I'm going to go to my room and get drunk, Doctor, you come into my room as I'm wasted and I'll snap your neck and use your bucking body for firewood!" she shouted as her body disappeared from view, the Doctor shivered in horror that such a pony would murder another so casually.

"She's not kidding either, Derpy hates being around stallions when she drinks." Dinky stated calmly to him as he shook his head sadly, not wanting to ask why, figuring it had something to do with her past then with a smile walked farther into the kitchen and started making a bowl of honey oats cereal for the both of them.

"Is something the matter with Derpy? She's acting a bit….colder than usual." He asked a bit confused by the turn of events that happened so far as the filly shrugged before swallowing a spoonfull of her food and answering.

"It's her payday today, and since Mailponies get paid first before any other worker in Ponyville she can't get her check because of the storm which won't end until the day after tomorrow so that means no bits for rent, food, a few bits for my allowance and worse of all for my sister, her cigarettes." The small unicorn replied slowly as is if it was nothing new.

The Doctor frowned as he looked at the filly who was happily eating her breakfast and sighed as he finished his oats then drunk the milk along with Dinky and put both bowls in the sink to be washed at a later date.

The stallion turned towards the table and sat down with the filly who smiled at him with an innocent air around her before he spoke, not wanting to make their morning awkward.

"So tell me Dinky, what grade are you in?" the Doctor asked softly causing the filly to frown and put a hoof to her chin thinking for a second because she had not been to school due to the storm in three days then with a chuckle replied.

"I'm in fifth, going to be in six next fall."

The Doctor laughed thinking that this little filly could really do well in school if she stayed out of trouble and with her studies.

"Do you have any friends?" he asked calmly to which she nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, I'm even a member of a group called the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with the original three: Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo and we have some other new members to…Pipsqueak, Babs Seed and Rumble, the girls were a bit hesitant to allow the colts to join but once they realized that they did not have their Cutie Marks like the rest of us they allowed them to join," She laughed before beckoning the Doctor closing with a hoof then whispered into his ear when he was close enough.

Though I think Rumble might have a crush on Apple Bloom and Pipsqueak, Scootaloo." She said with a chuckle before smiling at the Doctor who joined in with her merriment and opened his mouth to speak before a loud shout of a curse word was screamed throughout upstairs.

"BUCK! YOU STUPID, OLD PIECE OF SHIT!" Derpy's very loud and angry voice screamed at her radio was heard as Dinky ignored it with a small smile and the Doctor frowned.

"Dinky….has Derpy ever….well, physically abused you when she was intoxicated?" He asked slowly and calmly, ready to take mental note in case he had to report Derpy's violence to the authorities.

Dinky's face showed an expression of that which the Doctor would never forgot for the rest of his life, complete and utter horror as she shook her head, took a deep breath and said so softly that the Doctor had to leaned closer to understand her words.

"Ditzy swore she would never be like our father, weather somber or not….she would never, ever do anything to hurt me."

She spoke as tiny tears of sorrow slid down her face and she sniffed as the Doctor did everything he could to calm the little filly down least she started to wail from dark memories as even a smaller filly and Derpy came down the stairs, ending the Doctor's life as he knew would happen…it was not a threat that Derpy would have killed him if he even accidently injured Dinky emotionally.

As it was the bright and very smart child calmed down once the Doctor got her a glass of fruit juice and a green apple which she ate calmly and with a smile as if she had not been distressed moments ago.

The Doctor thought that both females must have truly been through a lot to just shrug off their emotions as such, Derpy through her smoking and drinking and Dinky through her childlike innocence which the Doctor hoped she kept with her for a long while before she reached her cruel teenage years.

With a sigh the Doctor felt as though he needed a drink but Derpy's alcohol was kept off limits and he could not go to a bar with the really horrible storm in Ponyville so instead he thought of getting to know Dinky a bit more, with nothing else to do.

"So, Doctor…tell me, what's it like coming all the way from Dodge Junction ?" She asked softly, throwing her apple core into the trash by the kitchen counter by missed and with a frown got up before trotting to dispose of the garbage then rejoining the Doctor with a huff as he chuckled.

The Doctor put a hoof to his chin in thought as his mind wandered, into the journey that had led him to his place of rest today and he started his tale.

*Flash back*

His real name was Time Turner, he was the son of a clock maker and a flower seller, as odd as this pair was they were even more befuddled themselves when their son and only child wished to be a doctor, so they nicknamed him Doctor Whooves which he changed into his legal name upon his eighteen birthday and got into a fight with his drunken father leaving his house to see the world beyond his own home in Manehatten itself, even remembering helping a mare with an electric blue mane and magna colored eyes slowly recover from her drug habits before he left.

When he had went out from his hometown he visited all of Equestria, well, most of it anyway, such as Appleloosa, Hoofington, Fillydelphia, Baltimare, Trottingham laughing as he saw a white colt with brown spots on his body and brown eyes with the same colored mane and tail play with his mother and friends in the park, and even Los Pegasus itself forgetting to visit Canterlot before he finally, after eight years had settled down in Dodge Junction right before his abused and violent past with his alcoholic father caught up with him as he worked with and for Mrs. Cherry Jubilee and her family.

For four years Doctor Whooves had worked for the owners of Cherry Hill Ranch, doing what he could as an Earth Pony to get the cherries off the trees and running the machine when able with a few other employees, he had heard rumors of Mr. Jubilee being very abusive of his wife and was an alcoholic as his father was be he had done his best to ignore it, not wanting to get into business that had nothing to do with him.

It had been about the time that Mrs. Cherry had had enough that she fought back in front of everypony when her husband had whispered something into her ear and she had slapped him, hard. He back hoofed her before the Doctor had intervened and fought him, knocking him unconscious before the police ponies had stepped in and arrested him, not doing such to the Doctor because he had defended the wife, getting some very visible bruises.

He had been let go, since the husband still by rights and law owned the property and would have been sued if he had not been told to run away by Mrs. Jubilee herself, spending a night of passionate love with him in reward for his service to the business and to protecting her which he would never forget and with one thousand bits plus an extra two hundred which he used to for his train ride and for those who needed the bits before he had left, he had taken a train to Ponyville and hoped to spend the rest of his days here, even when he was still so young.

*Flash back end*

Doctor Whooves, done with his tale looked at the filly next to him who jaw was dropped in awe in wonder of this gentle, passionate and honest Earth Pony, she smiled, glad to know such a stallion before a loud, harsh voice shattered her hero image of the Doctor.

"Dinky, keep your damn crayon drawings out of my bucking ROOM!" Derpy screamed, apparently woken up from her hang over as she screamed something else about dinner to her making the Doctor wince but smile, both knowing that while their lives were tough and cruel, it was their future that counted and they could shape such anyway they wished, never wanting to be like their parents before them, their fathers sins were his own and they would be damned if they were blamed to be at fault.


	4. Day four: Party from memories

By day four, Doctor Whooves had known as much about Derpy Hooves as he could; while cold, she was as gentle as she could be to her little sister, as much as a smart mouth she was, she was soft as she was able to be to those she cared about, often telling the Doctor about her friends like Carrot Top, whose real name was Golden Harvest and Berry Punch, who as much as she often got drunk, was as much as a role model to her little sister, Piña Colada as she could be.

"I don't have many friends; you can see why obviously but those that I do, I try to be there for them if they are there for me." Derpy Hooves said softly to the Doctor while drinking from an entire bottle of hard cider, the Apple family, she had informed him, started bottling the alcohol on request of Princess Celestia.

Derpy was drunk, shit-faced as was the term which was why she was 'pouring her heart out', to the Doctor on the evening of the third day after he had his talk with Dinky. The two sat on the couch while she talked, her first intention was to get a cigarette in her drunken state but she had changed direction and sat by the Doctor who was reading from a magazine about decent designs of wallpaper and curtains, once he had gotten the apartment of course and she started to just talk.

The Doctor listened to her words calmly, ignoring her breath as she got close to his own to make her point, hoping he got the point even though she would not remember her words.

She told him of everything from her past, from getting addicted to drugs with a unicorn mare with an electric blue mane and tail with dark purple shades with a two bridged eighth notes as her Cutie Mark every Friday, letting Rarity the unicorn or even Futtershy take care of Dinky while Derpy snorted cocaine and got drunk with the mare, sometimes even having Rainbow Dash come over and try to stop her from continuing down her dark path, often ending in a physical fight that Derpy won in her hazed state, the fourth forcing Vinyl Scratch to kick her out of her house due to destroying much of her home in the brawl.

"After I got kicked out, I understood finally what Rainbow was trying to tell me, that I was hurting my sister emotionally and mentally if not physically, I was hurting the only pony that would always be there for me…I was becoming just like my father." Derpy sniffed, her ego wounded and with a hiccup she turned away from the stallion before he could lay a hoof in comfort to the Pegasus who used her tail to grab a cigarette, putting it in her mouth before grabbing a match and lighting it, lighting the smoke as she inhaled deeply before she exhaled out her nose, her eyes closed as the Doctor saw a single tear slide down her left eye.

Wiping her eye with a hoof, Derpy rolled over, landing on her wooden floor and with a sigh said "So after that, I gave it up, as much as I could…my soul will never be pure like my sister's, I'll always have sin, but at least I'll do the best I can to always be there for my only family. Thanks Doc…I guess you can do more than just be a lazy, dumb ass stallion. I'm going to bed, you can have the rest of the cidar if you want." She whispered and turned away, her tail swishing slowly before she walked up the stairs, not even allowing the Doctor to say one word, but he had been there for her in her time of need, certainly that meant something, right?

The Doctor looked at the little amount of cidar the mare left him and ignored it, his mind wandering with how lucky he was, he had found the Gods, they have saved his soul and he had never wished to get into the drugs that Derpy herself had, being fine with a drink every once in a while, but never having as much as the Pegasus herself.

With a loud sigh, he put the blanket over himself and drifted off to sleep, praying to Princess Luna in her realm above that maybe one day, Derpy could finally get rid of her dark past that followed her with every hoof step she took.

The next morning was one that surprised the stallion, not by the action of what Derpy was doing, but by what she was creating before his eyes. He had woken up later then he expected and saw the gray furred mare making muffins, her tongue out in constriction and her eyes narrowed as she whisked the batter to make oat muffins, a freshly made batch of red velvet with cream cheese swirled, six in all and another of carrot to the side of her, cooling off.

Her eyes, well her right to be exact looking at him in annoyance as her left slid upwards, she scowled before turning back to her batter, the Doctor's mind flashing back to last night and her heart felt confession of guilt, chaining her soul from finding peace with herself or love, for that matter.

"What, you want to say something or just stand there like an idiot?" her harsh voice snapped him out of his mental thoughts making him sigh.

"Well, it's clear she does not remember our conversation, a shame really but she was drunk." He thought before slowly trotting up to her, looking at the desserts she prepared, for what purpose was unclear to him though.

"It's nice to see you cooking again." He spoke wincing and slightly cursing himself for the way he said it as her face looked up in anger, her teeth gritting before she spat.

"Why, you think all mares should only be in the kitchen making food for you to have or in the bedroom for you to impregnate and take care of your babies? Buck you!" she shouted as he stepped back in shock, used to her rage but he had not meant to insult her, only to tell her she was doing a good job, though she had taken it the wrong way.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to insult you and no, I do not think the same as many stallions. I know that all mares can do just the same as stallions, I only mean-"

"Doc, if you're here to just watch me bake like some sort of damn stalker then get out of my kitchen, otherwise, shut the buck up and go get the Blueberry mix and help me, I'm not going to have you stand there while I cook, you'll just get on my nerves." She growled before he went to do as ordered and help her prepare the next batch for the oven.

Fifth teen minutes of silence was all that was in the house before the stallion took a chance and decided to speak, choosing his words carefully to not offend Derpy.

"So…what is with all the muffins?" he asked softly, the mare ignoring him for a few seconds before she poured her mix into six separate muffins slots and put the gray tray in the oven before walking over and getting the dry banana mix, two eggs, milk and washing the bowl she had used before mixing the ingredients and making the new batch of muffins.

"For a party Rainbow Dash is having to celebrate her relationship to Applejack, you'll meet them later after the damn storm is over which should be in a few hours, apparently they have confessed their love to each other for a while but Rainbow wanted to wait until after the storm to have the party, I get paid by the Cake family for bringing this and more muffins to their shop, so you know…a few more bits are always a good thing, right?" she replied causing the Doctor to nod with a smile as the two worked in silence for a half an hour.

After making three more trays of the same type, they washed their hooves then sat down, trying one, Derpy, red velvet and the Doctor, blueberry while drinking milk before Derpy lit a cigarette and blew the gray smoke away from the stallion which surprised him.

"Thanks for the help, Doc; it would have taken me an hour to make them by myself." Derpy said shyly, for once her cold nature gone to be replaced by a gentle, soft voice, almost causing the Doctor to choke on his muffin but swallowed as he looked at the mare who glanced at him with an eyebrow raised as she inhaled and exhaled her cigarette from her nose.

"Your…your welcome, um, Derpy." He answered, a bit uncomfortable with the almost caring way Derpy Hooves was speaking to him, silently wondering if the mare was drunk again.

"You're welcome…just don't get used to it, Doc." Derpy spat before putting out her cigarette in the ashtray on the table and getting off her chair, finishing her muffin and milk before using her tail to grab the glass and deposing it in the sink, walking out of the kitchen as the Doctor sighed, and with a smile, ate the rest of his muffin.

The Doctor was able to put his own glass in the sink before a small gray furred filly entered his vision and caused him to grin.

"OH, muffins!" Dinky spoke before taking one of the red velvet and taking a bite, with a large smile she licked the cream cheese that had appeared on her snout and looked at the stallion in front of her.

"Hi, Doctor Whooves." The filly said with joy before she ate the rest of her snack and walked back to her room, the Doctor following her out the kitchen before looking to see Derpy on his 'bed' taking a nap as he chuckled.

A knock at the door made him jump before he walked to it and upon opening it saw a cyan furred mare with a rainbow colored mane and tail, magna colored eyes and a cloud with a lighting rainbow colored Cutie Mark on her flank, she much have been Rainbow Dash, the mare Derpy and Dinky talked about a few times.

"Oh, hey, you must be new in town. Names Rainbow Dash, who are you?" she asked in a blunt manner causing the Doctor to frown before speaking his name in which he mare only nodded, looking as if she did not really care.

"Hey, is Derpy Hooves here?" Rainbow Dash asked with a hint of impatience causing the Doctor to not like the mare's tone but he supposed he was not one to judge seeing as how Derpy acted towards him all the time.

"Yes, one second," he replied before walking towards the mare in question who was snoring lightly before he gently poked her with a hoof "Derpy, Derpy wake up…there is somepony here to see you." He said softly causing the mare to open her eyes and glare at him before getting up and with a yawn walked towards the open door in which Rainbow Dash was waiting.

"Oh hey Derpy, what's going on-?"

"What do you want, Rainbow?" Derpy growled annoyed that her sleep had been put on pause by the mare who, though as helpful as she had been to provide her with a job and help her settle in her house, even going as far as to stop her from her drug abuse, annoyed her the most.

"I…I was sent here to tell you that the storm is over and if you got the muffins the Cakes needed for the party, you know the one celebrating mine and Applejack's rel-"

"Yeah, I know about it, and the muffins are ready. Storms over you say, finally. Now I can kick that bastard stallion out of my house." Derpy cheered with a dark smile making the rainbow mare a bit uncomfortable as she rubbed her left arm with her right hoof.

"Um, yeah, I guess that's great news, anyway-"

"Party's at four, like you and Pinkie Pie both told me…three times to be exact, I know. So I'll see you then." Derpy harshly interrupted the mare making her narrow her eyes in annoyance.

"Well yeah, the party to but I been meaning to ask-"

"The stallion is none of your business, Dash, so Dinky and I will see you at four, alright, bye." She spat before closing the door but not before hearing Rainbow Dash ask if she can borrow a cigarette to which the gray Pegasus ignored with a roll of her eyes and slammed the door in her face.

"Asshole." Rainbow Dash whispered with a snort before she opened her wings, flapped them then flew into the now open and clear sky from the horrible storm that both Mayor Mare and Princess Celestia ordered to be brought to her and many other towns across Equestria.

As Rainbow Dash flew throughout the clear blue sky which shore with the Goddess of the Sun's bright, orange star she thought of the dark past that she had had with Derpy herself, understanding a bit of why she had felt so much resentment and malice from the Pegasus that she had known for the past ten years, her mind flashing back to an important day that changed her view on her 'friend'.

*Flash Back*

It was the twenty first birthday of Thunderlane; a black furred male Pegasus with a dark gray coat, amber eyes, and a blue/sliver mane and tail with the Cutie Mark of a gray cloud flashing a single yellow lightning bolt and the current coltfriend of Derpy Hooves who was seventeen during the time and, with no surprise she was smoking a cigarette as he drunk a plastic cup of apple vodka holding it in his right wing.

Derpy laughed as Thunderlane whispered something into her left ear making him roll his eyes with a smile before Rainbow Dash with her current creature friend, Gilda the female griffon having the lower body of a lion complete with the lion's tail and the upper half of an eagle with her two razor sharp yellow talons with golden eyes as she barked in anger at a male Pegasus who came to close to her with her sharp, curved yellow beak.

"What up, Derp? Hey Thunder…happy birthday, little boy." Rainbow Dash laughed, obviously tipsy causing the stallion to laugh before replying.

"Hey, Dash, been hitting the liquor a bit too hard, don't you think?" he asked with a laugh making the mare scoff before looking over to her creature friend who stole a plastic cup of grape vodka from a mare Pegasus before chugging all of it and tossing it behind her, hitting a drunk stallion in the head.

"Nah, Dashie is still good to go a few more rounds before she falls asleep on a lighting cloud like last time." She sneered as the mare turned to her, giving her an evil glare before turning to Derpy who had put out her cigarette on the floor, knowing that nopony or creature would care.

Derpy laughed as Gilda starting to mock Rainbow Dash behind her back, the poor Pegasus having no clue as Derpy was not hearing a word the mare was saying to her before a mare rudely slammed into her right shoulder, causing her to stumble into Rainbow Dash before she turned, seeing the spiked blue/sliver mane and tail of Cloudchaser, with her pale Persian blue coat and rose colored eyes, the mare hating Derpy since she had gotten into a relationship with Thunderlane a month ago but never physically confronting her until now it seemed.

Derpy eyes narrowed, her left glaring at the mare in question while her right slid to the left of her, observing Cloudchaser who was hanging around with her sister, Flitter, who had a dark shade of blue with the same blue/silver mane and tail and a pink bow in her mane though Derpy what not sure which Cutie Mark Flitter had on her flank, nor did she care while she knew that Cloudchaser had the sun with a single cloud in front of it, Derpy knowing of such because she always flashed her flank in front of Derpy's face as if to say.

"Your boy doesn't know what he's missing out on." Which made her either ignore her to grit in teeth in rage or to make her want to slap the grin off her cocky face, as if what the blue furred whore was really even a challenge compared to Derpy's own body, but now, now she had enough of all the shit the bitch was putting her through.

She took three steps forward towards the mare when she felt a yellow talon on her left shoulder as she turned to see the usually drunk and encouraging of fights griffon shake her head.

"She's not worth it, Derp. Just ignore her, seriously." She growled before her talon was slapped aside by the cold mare. "Stay out of this, Gilda, this is personal, I'm so sick and tired of her shit, she wants to start something, then I'll oblige to her sense of jealously." Derpy snarled ignoring Thunderlane's protest to leave it alone, and moving through the crowd of drunken teenagers as she thought of her friendship with Gilda, the griffon was good to go to for drugs, booze or even a laugh or two but she got irritated by her attitude of pride and arrogance swiftly which made her often ignore Rainbow Dash's creature friend until she bluntly made her presence known to her.

With a snort of warm, exhaled air Derpy's rage only increased as she stood behind the mare of her frustration and tapped her shoulder with a hoof as Cloudchaser turned around, annoyed to be pulled away from her friends because of some pony she may not know.

"What do you want you-?"

Were the mare's only words before a sharp hooked right hoof slammed hard into her jaw forcing her to stumble back from the blow, her jaw aching with pain she did not think was possible, moving her mouth to make she it was not broken she opened her eyes and stared at the pony who dared to physically assault her as she looked at the enraged face of Derpy Hooves, the face serious making Cloudchaser wince in pain from her bruised jaw as she narrowed her eyes in anger and shock.

"Derpy?!" she shouted, the noise from the party drowning out her words but those near the two heard her words and quickly forming a crowd over the 'drunken' fighting mares, making bets on who of the two would win.

"You have a problem with me now that I got your attention, bitch?!" Derpy shouted before flapping her wings, quickly lifting into the air before diving fast towards her opponent who has no time to open her wings and lift into the air let alone dodge before Derpy's forehooves slammed into her chest, throwing her into a priceless mirror that hung on Thunderlane's parents wall for his mother while the injured mare slammed back first into the wall, her back and sides covered with long, sharp shards of glass as she dropped to the floor, her spine and flank bleeding which Cloudchaser ignored before standing on her four hooves, wobbling a bit from the pieces of embedded glass in her coat.

With a growl Cloudchaser ran towards Derpy and threw a fast speed swing towards the mare hitting her hard in the cheek, she grunted as pain registered in her face and with a second's hesitation uppercutted Cloudchaser in the chin before quickly turning and slamming her two rear hooves into her chest, throwing her hard into the living room table which broke upon the sudden weight, the shards in her back slicing open her wounds even more but she barely noticed.

Cloudchaser could not even lift her head before Derpy flew over her and pounding her face hard with her hooves, showing no mercy nor restraint towards her actions, Cloudchaser's nose, lips and her left eye bleeding before she finally found the strength to pound her left back hoof into Derpy's stomach then slammed her in the face with both front hooves, the gray furred mare getting a black right eye and her bottom lip splitting open dripping into Cloudchaser's chest fur as she did not notice her wounds and continued to beat the living shit out of her enemy.

"Get off her, leave her alone you crazy, jealous bitch!" Fritter shouted trying to help her sister but Derpy was having none of it.

"Get the buck away from ME!" she screamed and back hoofed the mare in the face with her right front hoof forcing her to stumble back to dodge the blow and trip on a discarded bottle of grape vodka as her head slammed into a nearby small table stand, blood slowly dripping from the heavily inflected wound, her friends trying to help her and her sister but the enraged mare paid nopony any attention before she flapped her wings, lifting herself and Cloudchaser into the air, the mare near unconsciousness as Derpy threw her harshly into a mobile speaker playing from the DJ Pegasus as she showed no guilt, the mare getting fried by the thousands of volts of electricity.

Cloudchaser was barely breathing after the fight was finished; Derpy breathing hard and glaring anypony to dare lay a hoof on her as she landed onto the clouded floor, Cloudchaser friends helped the near death pony from the large speaker who should not have been alive.

Derpy's body finally realized the pain she had as she held a hoof to her head then turned to go to her friends, ignoring the DJ, a stallion whose name she did not know, demanding she pay for repairs to his beautiful system.

She took three, painful steps to her friends before Thunderlane's body blocked her own as she smiled, blood dripping from her mouth, his eyes were narrowed and her mouth set in an angered frown making her frown but in confusion.

"You know what your problem is, Derpy Hooves? You think you can take on everything in all Equestria by yourself, you don't give a shit what comes your way just as long as you can settle it by violence." He growled, his eyes shifting to Cloudchaser's body with her friends flying to get her to the hospital before they went to her sister whose friends was trying to do the same.

"Thunderlane, I-"

"No, you know what, we're through. You don't give a shit about anypony but yourself and with the road you're going now you never will. It's over Derpy, have a nice bucking life." Thunderlane spoke cruelly before flapping his wings to chase after Cloudchaser, no doubt to comfort her which make Derpy sniff then wince as she felt a headache creep into her head.

Derpy frowned, she did not mean for any of this to happen, she was just tired of Cloudchaser's mocking and jealous nature, she did not want things to go this far. She lifted her head as Rainbow Dash and Gilda walked towards her, Rainbow's eyes narrowed her rage, she slapped Derpy in the face hard with her left front hoof, the mare herself not even feeling the blow through her depressed thought.

"You happy now, bitch! Huh, are you BUCKING HAPPY NOW!" Rainbow Dash screamed into her face about to hit her again but was stopped by Gilda who shook her head.

Derpy sighed loudly, wincing again as a long line of blood ran down her nose.

"You got a cigarette?" she asked quietly, Gilda threw her, her nicotine before shaking her head, her eyes filled with pity and shame for the mare before tossing her a long match.

"Come on, Rainbow, let's go smoke some Hay Weed, try to get this party going a bit more. I suggest you leave Derp. Before you cause any more damage to anypony else." Gilda growled lightly making Derpy only nod as she took the cigarette and match in her tail and walked away towards the front door where a butter furred mare with a pink mane and tail with cyan blue eyes and the Cutie Mark of three butterflies on her flank was just now entering, her eyes widening around the house as she saw the destruction caused by one mare.

"Hey, Flutter's, come for the party?" Derpy whispered watching Fluttershy look up and see Derpy's injuries, her eyes holding shock and pity for whatever happened to the mare.

"O…oh, Derpy, yes I…I got here a bit late, I'm sorry-"

"It's alright, Shy, party seems to be over anyway…and yes, Dash is here. She's over by the Hay Weed smokers in the back, have fun trying to sweet talk her and don't worry, you'll get her one day just do what I said and be yourself." Derpy interrupted softly, not wanting to get into her wounds with the mare.

Derpy Hooves was the only one who knew that Fluttershy had a crush on her best friend, Rainbow Dash but swore to never tell and even tried to help the mare but to no avail with Fluttershy's very shy nature, and with Gilda it made it five times harder for Derpy to help, still…she did what she could.

Excusing herself from her friend and ignoring the mare's quite protest to allow her to help heal her wounds, Derpy stepped into the cold, clear sky, the party doing what it could to get back into swing as she took her cigarette in her mouth from her tail then lit the match, igniting the nicotine before inhaling deeply then exhaling out the right side of her mouth, lost in thoughts of her wounds, her break up with Thunderlane, her abandonment from her friends and even feeling a tad guilty on almost killing Cloudchaser and her sister.

With an angered snort, Derpy swore that she would never let anypony but family get so close to her again, maybe Fluttershy but she was an exception. She did not need anypony else, she did not want anypony else, call it pride and a very bad case of it but Derpy had had enough of allowing ponies to walk over her because of her eyes or messing up on a test or such, she was done.

"Buck everypony else, if I want something done, I'm doing it myself…nopony else will mock me again." she growled to herself before flapping her wings and lifting into the air, she flew towards her house, where her life would forever change because of her cruel actions.

*End of flash back*

Rainbow Dash sighed loudly as her mind was reeled from the past to reality, where she was helping clear clouds with the other Pegasus around her, hoping to be with her marefiend, Applejack and to be with her best friends at the party, knowing that while Fluttershy had a long time crush on her, she had found love in Rarity, the two dating now for two years now longer then Rainbow Dash and Applejack herself who only been together for a month.

"Seems like nothing can keep Derpy from her past, her sins, not her friends, her drugs or even her family…is her soul really doomed to Tartarus because of her actions?" She whispered to herself, shook her head to clear her thoughts, and hoping to have a cigarette before she met up with Applejack turned and used her rear hooves to dissolve the cloud in front of her, her mind still on her lost, cruel friend's soul.

* * *

**Author's note: ****So...yeah, Derpy Hooves verses Cloudchaser, thoughts on that? LOL, I'll admit, this chapter was really dark, why? Because I really enjoy bringing a more real style to MLP rather then just flowers and sunshine like it's meant for the little kids, you don't like it, oh well.**

**As for the romance, that will be on the next chapter, promise...you all think I should make one more chapter after five, or leave it like it is? It's up to you, but I may need ideas if the new chapter comes to past...enjoy.**


	5. Tragic accident in such a joyous moment

Derpy Hooves sighed loudly as she lifted the second pan of cupcakes onto her back, where another silver tray rested, making sure to secure to them with her wings. She looked over to the Doctor, who had two other similar trays on his back along with her little sister, though the little filly was getting on her nerves by balancing the medium sized tray on her head.

"Stop fooling around, Dinks, and open the door. I don't want these trays and all my hard work to fall to the ground before we get to the Bakery. You're pissing me off," the mare demanded lightly, making the filly's eyes widen.

Dinky placed the tray gently on her back and headed towards the door, opening it with her right front hoof. She walked out the door, almost dropping the tray.

Derpy face hoofed herself, sighing loudly; she needed a cigarette already, and it was only one p.m. Plus, she just had one an hour ago. With a roll of her eyes, she looked over to the stallion, who smiled at her. She ignored it and followed her sister. The Doctor frowned sadly and walked out the front door, following the two to whatever destination they were heading.

Sugercube Corner was soon in view to Derpy. She grunted, feeling the tray full of the baked good on her lower back beginning to slip. She used a rear hoof to keep it from dropping, and then with a scowl, she continued on their journey.

The three had apparently arrived at the bakery a bit late, because it was in full swing by the time they entered. Music blared from large speakers, complete with a turntable performed by Derpy's old friend, Vinyl Scratch. Ponies from all over were either rocking to the music with friends, drinking by the tables—the alcohol was set away from the non-alcohol for the younger ones, far enough away so no pony could be tempted to get a sip—or were enjoying the many sweets provided by the shop itself.

Dinky Doo looked around the very well planned out party before her eyes spotted a familiar white furred, blank flanked filly. She jumped in excitement, almost dropping the tray and making Derpy snap at her.

"Watch what you're doing, Dinks!" she shouted.

Dinky blushed, nodding and slowly trotting over to the dessert table to set her tray down. Without a word, she ran towards her friends, and Derpy sighed loudly with a smile.

Doctor Whooves stood around, waiting for Derpy's command and looking around awkwardly, not knowing any of the faces before his eyes, save for the mare he had met two hours ago, Rainbow Dash he believed her name was with another mare. She was an orange furred mare with beautiful green eyes and a long blond mane. He assumed she was Rainbow's marefriend, Applejack.

Derpy looked over her right shoulder, nodding her head towards the table filled with tooth rotting goodness. They both calmly walked towards it and set the trays down, making them both sigh loudly now that the hard work was completed.

The Doctor looked at Derpy with an eyebrow raised, signaling her to to make the first move. She, with an embarrassed chuckle, walked to a few ponies that were drinking at one of the many tables, signaling the stallion to follow her. He had no other choice but to comply.

"Hey, everypony," Derpy called out.

Three heads turned to look at her. One mare with aquamarine fur, golden eyes and a white colored hair streaked with blue, smiled at Derpy as lifted a plastic cup in her blue aura.

"Derpy! I'm glad you could make it. We weren't thinking you would come after that large fight you had with Carrot Top two weeks ago at Twilight Sparkle's birthday party," the unicorn said with a smirk, making the Pegasus roll her eyes.

"Yeah, well that's water under the bridge, alright? Doctor, this is Lyra Heartstrings, with her marefriend—sorry, her wife, Bon-Bon, though her real name is Sweetie Drops. And this is my old friend, Golden Harvest, but everypony calls her Carrot Top," Derpy said in a huff while looking at the Doctor.

"And girls, this is Doctor Whooves. He's new here from Dodge Junction and has been staying with me during the storm," she said in a tone that implied she did not want to be talking about him. She muttered something under her breath.

"What was that, Derpy?" Bon-Bon, the one with the light apple greenish coat asked with a frown

Derpy scowled once more and roll her eyes at her 'friends'.

"Nothing, Sweets," Derpy replied before telling the four she was going to get a drink, leaving the poor stallion alone with the three polite but very nosy mares.

"So... Doctor, you and Derpy-" Bon-Bon began.

But Doctor shook his head with a red blush forming on his face. "Oh, no. Derpy is just being a helpful mare… well, she was actually forced to help by her sister, but it's been… fun while it lasted," he interrupted with a weak smile.

The mare frowned as he chuckled then looked over to the mare in question, who was chatting with a yellow furred, pink maned mare, a drink, no doubt alcoholic in her right wing.

As the three mares bombarded the stallion with their questions, Derpy chatted with Fluttershy, the shy mare having a non-alcoholic drink in her left wing, which she quietly sipped to wet her throat and lips. She laughed when Derpy told her a funny joke involving what happened between her and Carrot Top a week ago.

"So what's been going on with you, Shy?" she questioned the shy Pegasus, who smiled, a dreamy gaze filling her eyes.

"I've fallen in love," she announced softly, Derpy having to strain her ears to hear the words.

Derpy snorted, never being one for sappy romance, but Fluttershy was an expectation. To do anything to injure the mare would cause almost all of Equestria to rain down their fury on her enemy's head.

With a sincere smile and polite chuckle, she asked who the mare was this time that the solitude mare's eyes had caught.

"Um... uh... R-Rarity," she stuttered with a small 'eep.'

Derpy laughed but then nodded her approval. She was impressed at how Fluttershy had managed to do what she could to get the gorgeous unicorn, with her beautiful white fur, silky purple locks of her mane and tail and enticing dark blue eyes to notice her. After all Rarity was a serious catch to obtain, if one was lucky.

Fluttershy told her how Rarity had to break Spike's poor heart by denying his offer for dinner. Even though Spike had found romance with Apple Bloom, she still felt awful for shattering the preteen's 'love' in front of his face. However, once he had gotten over it slowly, and she had been forgiven, Fluttershy quietly made her move, doing all she could to make subtle hints at the fashion designer.

To Fluttershy's disappointment, though, Rarity had never noticed any odd behavior in her dear friend. Derpy wondered if Rarity even liked mares herself. If she did not, then Fluttershy would be crushed…again.

With a loud sigh, and knowing how serious Fluttershy could get once she fallen head over hooves for a pony, she wrapped an arm around her oldest friend.

"No more waiting, Shy. It's time for you to make your move. You can't show any hesitation towards the mare that caught your eye, and you have to go after her. You don't want her to slip out of your hooves like Rainbow did, do you?" she questioned.

Fluttershy winced, and Derpy felt bad for bringing such a sore subject back into topic, but she felt it was necessary for the mare to learn her lesson. If Fluttershy was truly in love with Rarity, then she needed a rough shove in order to ask her out, and to stop being treated like a foal. It was harsh and cold, but Derpy was an expert at being to the point and not beating around the bush.

"You're right… I… I have to tell her, no more waiting. Thanks, Derpy," she answered sweetly, a determined look on her face. Giving Derpy a quick hug, she drank all the fruit juice in her cup, asked for a sip of Derpy's own drink, and taking a small drink, she gave it back to her. She walked over to begin her journey to win Rarity's heart, with Derpy wishing her luck.

Derpy, mean and brutal as she may be, was always a supporter of her friends, and whether Rarity broke Fluttershy's heart or not when she made her confession, she would be there for her, as she would for anypony else that needed the help… or just a swift kick in the rear to get moving.

She was about to pray to Celestia that everything would go well for Fluttershy when she caught what her mental words were about to say and shook her head with a rough shake. She snorted loudly, thinking, Gods… who needs them?

With a sigh, she allowed her eyes to wander, wondering who else was at this celebration, enjoying the party. She noticed Octavia, Vinyl Scratch's roommate and marefriend, talking to one of the Flower Trio sisters and Mrs. Cake by a table that was near her marefriend's DJ equipment. Derpy heard a rumor that the two might get married that summer, even though Derpy highly doubted she would be invited to.

With a grimace, she let her eyes drift again, seeing Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic and the leader of the Elements of Harmony with her marefriend as of three weeks ago, Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laugher. Both were enjoying some cake, along with Spike, who was eating a sapphire cupcake by himself, laughing at one of Pinkie Pie's recent antics. Right now, Pinkie was putting a spoon on her nose.

Derpy smiled, but then felt as if somepony's eyes were on her. She turned around and noticed three ponies in the corner of the shop, one stallion and two mares glaring at her.

She notice Berry Punch, Cloudchaser, and Caramel glaring daggers as her. The Pegasus scoffed and glared back, right before Caramel stood from his seat and slowly trotted up to her.

The light amber coated Earth Pony, walked towards Derpy, standing almost nose-to-nose with her.

"Don't think you were invited to this party, crossed eyes," he spat coldly, making Derpy narrow her eyes in anger, more than pleased to get in this stallion's face if he continued to haggle her.

"I think I was, Fumble Hooves," she said through her teeth.

Caramel took a threatening step towards her, his mouth set in a permanent frown. He held a grudge towards Derpy for her comment that maybe he should have just gone to stallions, seeing as mares never liked him. Being dumped by his old marefriend, Sassaflash, for Thunderlane, Derpy's own ex-coltfriend, only gave her more to her comment.

Caramel dated Applejack for a while before they gotten into a large argument over her spending more time with Rainbow Dash than himself. This lead the two to break up, which was two months ago.

As such, he hated her and often teamed up with Cloudchaser, Derpy's old rival and Berry Punch, who despised her for trying politely, in her own terms, of course, to tell her to get off her alcohol addiction and got into a physical fight with the mare. Derpy won, but not after receiving some very large bruises and a broken nose for several weeks, while Berry Punch had been put in the hospital with a left black eye, four teeth being knocked out of her and a broken left rear hoof.

"Don't call me that, alcoholic bitch," he snarled.

Derpy pressed her nose against his hard, her left eye trailing downward as her right glare with rage that anypony dared to call her that. Besides, she was a chain smoker, if anything, though that did not mean the comment itself did not seriously offend her.

"The buck did you call me, little prick?" she snapped, gritting her teeth to keep from socking him in the face, which she was very tempted to do.

"I called you a lazy, stupid, retarded piece of s-" were the only words he was able to utter when a hoof conneceted with his jaw, knocking him into a nearby table and making everypony, including Vinyl who stopped her music, jump.

Derpy ignored them to throw another punch at his face. He dodged it then dug his right front hoof into her stomach, and as she hit the ground, he punched her hard into the face..

She spat out a glob of blood and stood up, feeling her anger overpower all other thoughts before she ran. Standing on her hind legs, she kicked her hind hooves into his back, but then she felt a swift, well aimed blow to the right side of her face and flew hard into a table, which broke under her weight.

The Pegasus stood. Her legs shook from the painful blow as she watched Cloudchaser float from the air then land on the ground, a large smirk on her face.

"Should have stayed down, whore," she yelled to the mare that roughly shoved away Carrot Top as she was telling her to stand down; Derpy had had enough from these three.

With a shout of rage, she charged at both her enemies, swinging her left hoof to Caramel's face, which landed successfully, knocking out a tooth. Turning around quickly and aiming her hind legs into Cloudchaser's chest, she threw the mare into the wall, blood dripping from the wound on her head. Cloudchaser stood up, her hooves barely keeping her up as she flapped her wings, intent on doing more harm to Derpy, who was fighting both Caramel and now Berry Punch.

Berry Punch headbutted Derpy's face, making her nose bleed, then punched her in the face. Derpy's head snapped back. In the back of her mind, she wondered why nopony was helping her. Sure, she doubted Fluttershy could handle this, but what about Rainbow Dash? Lyra?

Doctor Whooves?

She felt her body lift into air, and without even a flap of her wings to get out of her aggressor's attack, her body was thrown far.

"Stop it, you four. AH SAID STOP IT NOW!" Applejack screamed a few seconds too late.

Derpy felt glass break behind her, the shards embedding themselves into her body. She flew through the air from the window she was thrown out of, not able to open her wings to slow her fall, and hit the ground with the force of being ran over by a carriage. Her vision went black, and she slipped into consciousness.

The Doctor watched the entire fight before his eyes as he was talking with Carrot Top, who he swore was flirting with him. He could not believe that the Pegasus was able to hold her own with the three ponies, even though the fight quickly ended in a brutal way against her.

Dinky Hooves, along with her fellow Crusaders, ran out to help the mare who was critically hurt. Caramel, Berry Punch, who was completely drunk, making her five times harder to detain, and Cloudchaser were kept from escaping by Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Vinyl Scratch, Big Macintosh, Twilight Sparkle and Lyra Heartstrings, who all had enraged expressions due to the fight having interrupted such a joyous occasion. Even though Derpy was the one to start it, they knew she would not do such unless pushed over the edge.

"Sis, sis?! Are you ok?" Dinky screamed while she and Sweetie Belle managed to turn the mare over, seeing the large shards impaled in her body and not knowing that to do.

Just as they were going to pick her up, she was gently taken from the ground by Fluttershy and the Doctor. They did their best to bring her to the hospital. Rarity, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, and the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, meanwhile, followed after the three, their faces set with shock and pain that such a horrible accident could happen to the currently injured mare.

The three brawlers were being escorted roughly by Rainbow Dash, Big Macintosh, Applejack, Lyra and Bon-Bon to jail, hoping they could explain the solution to the police.

The Doctor, even though he had only knew Derpy for four days, felt worry and panic for the mare. He knew that she should not have been taken down so easily, but it was a surprised attack, and it had seriously harmed the mare. He tried not to fear for the worst for the Pegasus.

"How the buck do you get yourself into these situations, Derpy?" he wondered aloud before following her friends and little sister to the hospital. He could only pray to the Gods that she would be ok.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry everyone, short chapter I know, but I wanted to wrap this up quickly, next chapter will be the last and hope you all liked what you read in this one. I'm a heartless bastard I know, you'll get used to it.**


	6. Bittersweet Romance

When an hour had passed since taking in Derpy, it felt more like an eternity.

Doctor Whooves was pain-stricken to see Derpy in the condition she was as they held her while a doctor and nurse scurried toward them with a stretcher. They placed her on it and quickly asked what had happened before taking her in.

Her injuries sliced deep, and her face highlighted the agony she felt. Words could not describe the sympathy he felt for her, the concern for her condition. He placed a hoof on hers, feeling for her heartbeat. It was weak, but the fact there was one gave him faith as they took her into the back.

Dinky trotted up to the the Doctor and hugged his foreleg once the panic calmed ever so slightly. He wrapped a hoof around her shoulder and noticed she wasn't crying. Her eyes, however, told him she was trying to be strong. He just nodded at her. They were both told to wait patiently in the waiting room while they looked over her injuries and critical condition.

When Dinky asked if her sister would be okay, the nurse behind the counter just said, "We can't be sure right now, but don't worry, little filly. Somepony will let you know as soon as possible."

Dinky nodded her head slowly but accepted this, sitting down in a red seat with the Doctor next to her. Worry burned in her large eyes as she kept looking over at the hallway that led to all the hospital rooms. She was very strangely quiet, unresponsive. At first, Doctor Whooves wished he knew what the little filly was thinking. He couldn't imagine what it felt like to have a sister beat up so brutally as Derpy was...

The Doctor leaned down to her and whispered, "It'll be alright, Dinky."

Dinky sniffled "I know. She's a strong pony, so I know she'll be fine soon. B-but... I just wonder why ponies would be so mean to her. Yes, she can be rude and smokes and drinks a lot, but she's my sister," Dinky said, tears leaking down her face. "It's not fair."

"It'll be okay, Dinky. They're in deep trouble for hurting your sister," he said to comfort her. He gave her a somber look."So this wasn't gone unpunished."

Dinky smiled a little, somewhat happy with this response.

Most of the ponies who came in for Derpy gradually left after staying for so long. They held on for about half an hour, with jobs to handle and families to get to, they had to put aside any empathy for the injured Pegasus to deal with their own lives. Even Fluttershy, who had cried into Rarity's shoulder when they took Derpy into the back, eventually departed to take care of her critters. While the Doctor and Dinky understood that, they had decided to stay the entire time. After all, they had no where else to go but home after this, and without Derpy, it just wouldn't be the same.

Not to mention that Doctor Whooves still wasn't quite sure where to go after this. He had finally decided on an apartment by Sugarcube Corner, but he didn't want to leave these two mares all alone. It felt like it would be wrong to do. He didn't want to leave them—at least, not just yet.

He tried to keep optimistic, but there was that seed of doubt inside him—and oh, how he despised that little part of him.

She would be alright, she would be alright...

But the sight of those shards digging into her skin, blood dripping onto the library floor and even trailing across Ponyville, sickened him.

She would be fine, she was going to be fine...

The Doctor and Dinky kept themselves occupied just barely. While he read magazines and newspapers of the past month, Dinky found small enjoyment with whatever friend of hers that visited Derpy in concern. He just kept to himself, since he was not exactly friends with anypony in Ponyville quite yet.

At the time Dinky was alone and drawing with crayons and paper the Crusaders gave to her to pass the time and while Doctor Whooves just stared disinterestedly at the ceiling, somepony cleared his throat, earning both of their attention. Standing before them was a doctor whose name tag read Dr. Aid. His intent stares at both Dinky and the Doctor confirmed who he was there for.

"Is Ditzy going to get better?" Dinky asked immediately, jumping up from her seat to look up at the white furred doctor.

Doctor Whooves had no time to feel any fears of the worst, because Dr. Aid was quick to the punch. "She has several stitches from the wounds on her back and quite a few bruises, but after we patched her up, nothing looks too severe. However, she will need to take things carefully for the next few weeks, maybe even a few months. Give her a day or two here to rest before she goes home, alright?" he advised. "We've just given her some medicine to put her to sleep so she can let her wounds settle a little, but if you want to see her, you may."

Dinky's head bobbed quickly. She followed Dr. Aid down the white walled hallway, Doctor Whooves in the rear of them. While passing where Dinky sat to draw, several of her pictures caught his attnetion.

Every picture, the Doctor noted, had a gray coated Pegasus standing by a pale coated unicorn, and both were smiling.

However, he couldn't blame her. He hadn't even read those articles before his eyes. He had skimmed through them with scarcely a thought. All he could think about was Derpy in that emergency room, getting treatment for her severe wounds.

He shook his head and walked the rest of the way, finding Aid opening a door on the right for Dinky to enter. She nearly ran in the room, and the second she spotted an occupied bed, her face lit up.

Derpy lay in the cot, her eyes wide open—the left one gazing to her side while the other stared at the ceiling. No noticeable marks were on her besides the few bruises that still lingered on her face. When Dinky ran up to her, she did not smile. "Dinks, calm down. I got a headache, alright?" she said in a small growl.

Dinky nodded her little head and took a step back, letting Doctor Whooves stand next to her. "How are you, Derpy?" Doctor Whooves asked.

"Like I got the shit bet outta me by three ponies—what do you think I'd feel like?" Derpy grumbled, eyebrows narrowing. She groaned, rubbing a side of her body where pain burned. "Damn it, I can usually kick ass, but this is just pathetic."

"It was three against one—you couldn't do anything about it," he noted. There was a pause where Derpy glared at the side. He couldn't be quite sure who she was angry at, but he had an idea. He decided to end the subject for now. "So the doctors said that even when you leave, you still need to be careful doing things for a bit. And if

Though he tried his best to make his statement reasonable and calm, Derpy still frowned at the idea. As if he should have expected anything else. "I can take care of myself. I'm not some weak bitch who can't handle getting beat up," Derpy growled under her breath, but audible enough for him to hear.

He just sighed, now able to take her temperamental statements; having been stuck with her for four days just had that effect. However, he refused to let her win her side of the argument. Her stubbornness was getting nowhere. His eyes traveled down to Dinky, solemnly smiling and watching her sister, and he got an idea.

"Well, you won't be able to take care of Dinky while you're laid up. I could watch over her for the next few days until you can come home," the Doctor said.

The unicorn filly beamed. "That's a great idea.

Derpy grit her teeth. "Dinky can learn to take care of herself."

"Do everything by herself?"

Derpy's hesitance spoke a million words. Then she massaged her head with another growl. "Ugh, fine."

The Doctor nodded, but not before she asked something. "Why do you care?" Derpy asked with a grimace. Catching the earth stallion's confused expression, with an irritated groan, she added, "Why do you care about me and my sister so much?"

That stumped him. He couldn't respond immediately, because that was a really good question. He had to mull over that for a whole minute, much to Derpy's irritation. He could leave right now and let her handle herself like she wanted. She had other friends to help her and Dinky, as well, friends that knew her longer than he ever did. He still needed to find a place to stay, because he didn't want to just take the couch in Derpy's house.

"I wish I knew," he said.

Derpy said nothing. She just glowered at him for a good few moments, wondering what the hell that meant. However, for just a second, her hardened eyes grew soft, even though it left as quickly as it came. Her face scrunched, and she turned to her side, readjusting her blankets. "Whatever..." she mumbled.

A nurse with light fur popped her green maned head into the room, then stepped in, glancing at the Doctor. "If you don't mind, our visiting hours are over. She's had an exhausting time, so needs her rest, as do you two. You can come back tomorrow, if you want," advised the nurse in a sweet tone.

The two other ponies nodded. Dinky peeked up at Derpy, who had already fallen to sleep, her chest heaving lightly. She smiled at her sister and said, "Get better, Ditzy." She kissed her cheek and walked away.

The Doctor stared at Derpy, whose face for once looked peaceful while in sleep's deep trace. He couldn't help but feel something pull his mouth up into a smile. His hoof lingered on hers for a few extra seconds before he left the room.

Dinky watched the whole thing by the doorway. When he joined her in walking down the hallway, she asked, "You alright, Doctor? You look... funny."

He couldn't imagine how he looked that seemed funny, though he certainly felt his cheeks burn. "I-I'm fine, Dinky." He cleared his throat to compose himself. "Let's go home. She'll be fine soon. I know it."

It took several days, but finally, the Doctor was informed that Derpy could be taken out, and that the doctors preferred that somepony help her home. Even though she did not know this, she did not rage when Doctor Whooves arrived to pick her up while Dinky was at school.

However, that doesn't mean she accepted it so easily. "It's not like I'm crippled. I don't need a damn guide to take me home," she said to him with a snarl curling her lips down.

They had already gone outside, and the only reason Derpy accepted the Doctor getting her out was because she hated the hospital and wanted more than anything to leave. However, even as she walked toward her house with him at her side, she detested the idea.

Stitches and wraps covered her back, with only small red spots of blood remaining from several days ago. Away from the wrappings, her wings were still out in the open as they walked to her place. Could she still fly? He couldn't be certain.

Other than the bandages on her back and a few remaining bruises, it looked as if she had barely been touched. Her eyes still burned with a temper of a manticore, an aura of irritation about her. She still looked like she would beat up anypony who messed with her, and he wouldn't be surprised that, as soon as they got home, she'd head to her bedroom for a smoke.

"They just want to make sure you get home alright. I'm just doing what they thought best," he tried to explain. While she tried to brave off her wounds, he doubted she could walk straight with ease and without feeling any sort of pain.

Sure enough, she sucked in a breath as a stab of pain dug into her back. She had to stop altogether to take a deep breath. Though her house was now in plain sight, that would have to wait a bit.

"Where does it still hurt? Your back?" he guessed, reaching out a hoof just in case.

She raised her own to stop his. "I'm fine... Damn it, I hope those three rot in hell."

He didn't need to know the names to know who she was talking about, or where they were now. He stared at her with a somber look and said, "Well, right now, they are in prison for beating you up so horribly, so you don't need to worry about them."

"Good," she said with a glower in the direction of the library where the scene unfolded. They continue walking at a slow pace, slow for Derpy's sake.

"We were all quite worried about you. Your sister, your friends, especially me," he said, not quite sure where especially came from—or where this new conversation began at all. At this point, he resigned on figuring out what his mind was coming up with. "But we shouldn't have," he went on, grinning. "You're a tough on, Derpy. You'll bounce back up."

Derpy nodded curtly. "Damn right. I won't let these injuries interfere with my work."

"Can you still fly? Your wings look pretty out of shape, too."

She waved a hoof to dismiss the topic, her house before their faces. "I got it handled, alright, Doc? Just let it the buck go," she snapped in an exasperated tone.

Derpy used her keys to open the locked door, which he had locked when he left. She opened the door to her house, and she went in first, the Doctor following. He closed the door behind them with a gentle push.

Stepping in however, Derpy had already found a reason to yell out at him.

"Hey! If you plan on staying here for a few days, the least you can do is clean your damn dishes," shouted Derpy with an angry gesture at the kitchen.

The Doctor remembered breakfast, wincing as he recalled taking Dinky to school. They had gotten up late, so he hadn't thought to get the dishes done. He would have done them as soon as he got back, but he was told Derpy could get out soon, so he had completely forgotten about the kitchen. Noting Derpy's irritation, he told himself to never to that again.

But then something else came to him, his ears flickering into the air. "Pardon?" Did she just say...

Staying here...

"I didn't speak a foreign language, did I, Doc?" Derpy remarked. Again, she pointed at the kitchen with a long grimace. "Clean up your own bucking mess."

"No, no, I-I got that. I just... did you say stay here?"

The Pegasus rolled her eyes. "Yeah, what's your point?"

"What made you change your mind, if I may ask?" the earth stallion asked.

She shrugged. "Hell if I know. I'm just trying to figure you out."

An eyebrow rose on Doctor Whooves' forehead. Of all the answers he anticipated, that was certainly not one of them. "What do you mean by that?"

"You've known me for, what, only a damn week? And you're so bucking nuts about helping me and my sister, it's almost pathetic." She let out a dark, abrupt laugh before continuing. "What's up with that, anyway?"

He smiled at her. "You and your sister took me in for the storm. I feel I should return the favor."

"Well, I hope your worth the extra weight in this house, cause if not," Derpy added, eyebrows narrowed, "I can easily kick your ass out of here. Got it?"

Much to Derpy's anger, the Doctor chuckled, long used to her threats—which shouldn't have been done with as much ease as he did. "That's fair enough."

Their eyes locked for the shortest second, blue irises meeting gold. Nothing was said, and their expressions were hard to distinguish. They were both interrupted by a door opening, revealing behind it a small unicorn filly.

The filly jumped upon seeing Derpy, running up to her and hugging her. "Ditzy!"

Derpy grinned with a low chuckle at Dinky as she slipped her sister from a surprisingly tight grasp. She took a few steps back. She smirked. "I'm heading upstairs. There's no smoking in the hospital, so I have been craving something to smoke for a while." She disappeared upstairs, leaving her sister and Doctor Whooves to themselves.

They both just smiled at each other.

Derpy opened her golden eyes and yawned, moving the blue bed sheets and comforter she had on her body away from her. She grunted from a small pain in her side as she took a deep breath and exhaled out, looking at the tan colored clock that was suspended on the wall to her right. Seeing that was already one o' clock p.m., she gritted her teeth and blinked.

With another yawn, she got up from the bed and by habit, grabbed a cigarette that lay on her brown oak nightstand to her right. Using her tail to grab a match, she lit it as well as the tip of her smoke. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled out her nose. With a sigh, she planted her four hooves onto her wooden floor and trotted towards her bedroom door.

She went into her bathroom and brushed her mane with a red brush with her tail, promising to brush her teeth later tonight. She went and urinated in the toilet before flushing it down with a hoof, washing her hooves and trotted out the bathroom. All the while, she still smoked her cigarette.

Walking down the stairs, Derpy saw Dinky and the Doctor praying over their breakfast. With a roll of her eyes, she trotted towards the fridge and, with her right wing, took out a carton of orange juice, which she drank without hesitation as the two finished with their prayer and looked at the older mare. She burped loudly, put the carton back and walked over to where her sister and guest sat.

She saw the Doctor had made cinnamon pancakes with blueberry syrup. She smiled, impressed that he could cook well. She took one last drag of her cigarette she had in her tail before putting it out on the green ashtray in front of her. She dug into her food, ignoring the Doctor's angered glare and Dinky's small frown as they quietly ate as well.

While they ate, Dinky kept having a smile on her snout, annoying Derpy to no end. She looked at her sister, her right eye set in a glare as her left went upwards.

"What, why are you so happy, Dinks? It's just a normal day. Shouldn't you be in school?" she growled.

Dinky frowned, her eyes looking as if they were about to tear up. "You're right, Ditzy. It's Friday, but... you always let me have a day off of school on my birthday," she whispered, earning widened eyes from her sister.

She almost spat out the orange juice the Doctor had given her. She had forgotten it was her little sister's thirteen birthday; what kind of sister was she?

"Shit," Derpy hissed to herself, mentally slapping herself in the face. She had never forgotten Dinky's birthday, not once. Maybe she had been too absorbed in her own problems, especially with the pain she had been in, that her mind had slipped from one of the most important days of Dinky's life.

The silence was so awkward not even a dragon destroying the house could snap them from it. Derpy rubbed her forehead with a hoof, having no clue what to say. The Doctor cleared his throat, not wanting for Dinky to cry or Derpy to snap at him.

"I… I think that it would be best if you would go upstairs, so your sister and I could talk about your party this afternoon, Dinks," he said with a smile.

The filly's face light up in surprise. "I'm getting a party?" she asked in a loud squeal, making the Doctor laugh and nod. She hugged both him and her sister, and without a word, ran up to her room.

Derpy sighed, glaring at him, a stare he was used to by now, even though it did unnerve him a bit still. "Great for telling her shit that may not even happen, Doc," she spat.

The Doctor merely rolled his eyes. "Derpy, it's perfectly understandable that you would not remember after you were horribly injured as you were-"

"Are you calling me weak, cherry boy? I'll kick your ass right now to prove that I'm not-"

"You're missing my point, Derpy. With everything that has been going on with you, it's no wonder you forgot your sister's birthday. Luckily for you, I took a few extra steps to ensure things would go smoothly, planned with the help of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, of course. Though for some strange reason, Rarity also insisted she help with the plan. The party will be today at four, as far as I know. I got-"

"You remembered not to get anything with coconut, right? Dinks is allergic to coconut. Her face swells up like an angry, red balloon. Damn, one time-"

"Derpy, focus alright? This is important. We need to get the party set up, and we can't have Dinky finding out too soon about her surprise party, so I need you to stall her until it's time. When I go up the stairs and say, "It's a nice day out," that will be your cue to bring her out, alright?" he advised.

Derpy smirked, a dark, evil smirk as though she had leverage over the stallion. "Stall her, huh? Hmmm… fine, I guess I can do that. Damn, you really thought ahead with this shit, hun Doc? How did you know it was my sister's birthday anyway?"

"She said it ten times this week," he deadpanned.

She facehoofed and sighed loudly. "Of course she did. Alright, I'll do what I can, but no promises. Dinky can get really sneaky when she wants to; I taught her well," Derpy bragged puffing put her chest a little as the Doctor facehoofed himself this time.

With that, the two parted ways, the Doctor to get the party set up while as Derpy went up the stairs. She was surprised the Doctor was really helping her sister out with something that really did not concerned him.

_"Maybe I really had misjudged the poor bastard. Never had a stallion help us out like he did. Could he honestly care about the two of us? If so… it's kind of nice to be taken care of so well, not that I can't do shit myself."_ she thought with a small smile before going into Dinky's room and knocking on the door.

"Just a second," Dinky yelled.

Derpy rolled her eyes and barged in, not caring what her little sister said. She saw the filly on her bed with her hind legs spread and her left hoof in between them. She yelped and quickly covered herself up with her red blanket.

"I said just a second Ditzy. What the buck?!" she shouted, her eyes narrowed in anger.

Derpy blinked in shock before a dark grin formed on her muzzle. "Well, well, well, so little Miss Prayer is not as innocent as I thought… of course, you're old enough to have a bit of… fun." She laughed as Dinky blushed, not making eye contact with her.

"So….who's the colt?" she asked before trotting into the room, closing the door behind her with a hoof.

Dinky looking at her older sibling in surprise. "Y…you mean you're not shocked or surprised or embarrassed-"

"Girl, please, I've been doing the same thing when I was your age. There is not nothing in my life I have not seen or done," she replied with a wink. She sat on the edge of Dinky's bed, ignoring the smell of the younger mare's odor.

"I… I would have thought-"

"Dinks, I'm your sister, not your mother. It's natural for fillies your age to have…urges. So tell me again; who's the colt? And how long you been doing this?" She smirked.

Dinky sighed. "It…I've been only doing it for a week, when I'm really… pent up," she said embarrassingly. Derpy nodded, a bored expression on her face as she waited for Dinky to continue. "And the colt is…well, Rumble," she whispered.

Derpy blinked in surprise. "Ah… Thunderlane's brother. Can't deny that their family is hard not to want to tackle to the ground and-"

"I'm not going to Tartarus for this… am I, Derpy?" Dinky interrupted, not wanting to know more about Derpy's sexual experience for a lifetime.

Derpy only sighed loudly. She scowled, knowing how into church and prayer her little sister was, but having no clue how to answer, not giving a damn about Dinky's Gods.

"I'm sure it's nothing that can't be forgiven, little sis. Long as you don't travel down the darker path like I did, I think… the Gods will forgive you. Just, you know, keep your door lock when you need to… relieve stress and then pray for forgiveness afterwards. I'm sure even the Gods had to get rid of sexual tension," Derpy answered as Dinky blushed.

There was an awkward silence between the two before Dinky asked what was on her mind.

"Would you… would you pray with me, to get rid of this guilt weighting on my soul?" she asked.

Derpy scowled. "You know me Dinks. I don't do prayer, but if you want, I can give you the talk of the birds and the bees again," she snickered.

Dinky shook her head and chuckled. "No, no I'm good. Last time you said that to me, I was seven and you ended it with, "And then the bird ripped the bee's body in half with her beak." How was that supposed to help me again?" she giggled, to which Derpy rolled her eyes.

"Kept you from getting into the more dirty stuff, that's for sure. So yeah, do your thing. I'll be right here waiting," she said with a grin.

Dinky frowned, but then nodded and put her forehooves together before bowing her head and praying… loudly.

"Dear Celestia, I have sinned. I am sorry my Princess for performing an act that is not right in your eyes and I ask that you forgive me. My body is reacting in a way that is now unusual to me, and I pray that you please keep me from doing so again. And if it does happen and I have no control, I ask that you please forgive me and see your humble servant before you, serving you and the Gods until the day I die. Thank you, my lady. May the Gods forgive me, amen," she ended, her face set in content. She sighed loudly and smiled at her sister, who only frowned.

Silence was all that the room held as Derpy took a deep breath with a loud huff. She wanted a smoke but was not sure if she wanted her sister's room to have the odor her own room always held.

"It's ok, I don't mind if you smoke. My body has gotten used to the smell ever since I was seven. I don't mind," Dinky told her quietly.

Derpy smirked and nodded before getting a cigarette from her left ear. She held it in and a match from her right as she lit the match on her side, igniting the tip and inhaling a large lungful of the nicotine before exhaling it out of her mouth with a loud breath of relief.

Dinky looked at the cigarette in her sister's mouth as if she had never seen it before. After a moment, she asked quietly. "Can... can I have a drag?"

Derpy shook her head. "One sin at a time, little mare. Clopping every once in a while I don't care about, but this… nah. This I don't want you to try… ever," Derpy stated firmly.

Dinky nodded her head quickly, a bit afraid of her older sister.

"I don't want you to be like me, Dinks. I have been through so much shit in my life that it's not even funny. I had my first smoke when I was your age. Got into drugs when I was fifteen and became a complete and total mess when I was seventeen. Uncontrollable, untamed and just… heh, just a monster really. You knew that mom was always the one to go to church and take you along, while dad always stayed at the house and drank. Guess which life I chose? To be honest, as much as it annoys me, I'm glad you chose mom's path. It makes you the more innocent of the two of us. So if I ever catch you drinking from my alcohol or trying to have a drag of my smokes, I'll break your horn off with my bare hooves, got it?" she growled.

Dinky's eyes widen and she nodded her head rapidly, knowing that Derpy was not joking. "So um… where is the Doctor?" she asked in a lower tone.

Derpy took another drag of her smoke and blew it out her nose with a shrug. "How should I know? I'm not his bucking babysitter. He can do whatever he wants for all I care long as he does not bring a mare into my house and sleep with her on my couch, otherwise I'll snap both their necks and use them for firewood." She replied with a grin as Dinky rolled her eyes.

"You know that tough mare act does not work on me, right?" she said.

Derpy snorted. "Damn, thought it would for a little while. Oh well." She laughed making Dinky smile.

Then her face fell. "Ditzy, why is it when we visit mom and dad's grave, you only talk to mom and put a white rose on her grave?" she wondered aloud, earning a scowl from her sister.

She inhaled another drag before exhaling it out her mouth. "Because mom was the only one in our family I loved, Dinks. Thought you would have known that by now," Derpy answered.

Dinky blinked before speaking, ignoring the smoke that Derpy had accidentally blown her way. "But Pastor Heartstrings always said that we are to love our family and friends, and forgive them for any wrong doing they may have done as the Gods will and forgive and love us, for we may-"

"Dinks, first of all, tell Lyra to cram it where the sun doesn't shine. Second, I would never forgive dad for the shit he has done to any of us. He does not deserve it. You're too young to know it, and with you, you'll just look at all the good he has done for you, but he was a monster, a brute, nothing more than a piece of trash… and I became just like him growing up," she whispered so quietly that Dinky almost did not hear her.

"That's not true. You're honest… a little too honest. And you're caring, when you want to be, and-"

"Dinky, stop while you're ahead. Let's just….agree to disagree, ok?" she cut her off.

Dinky was quite for a few seconds before she nodded.

With a sigh, Derpy put out her cigarette in her hoof, wincing at the pain before she threw it away in her sister's green trashcan, ignoring the many Wonderbolts posters all over her room, covering her blue wallpaper that had clouds all over. She looked at the cloak suspended above her wall to the left, seeing that the green clock read three thirty. She chuckled.

"Alright, bonding time is over, Little Muffin. Go take a shower, then head down stairs. Think the Doctor might have come back from his trip now," Derpy said.

Dinky only nodded, removing her covers and turning to get off the bed, being sure to grab a tan colored towel. Derpy got up from her bed and trotted towards the door before stopping.

"And Dinky," she called out, causing the filly to turn her head and look at her, confused. "Happy birthday." She left the unicorn to herself.

Dinky blinked, tears in the corner of her eyes as she said softly. "She hasn't called me Little Muffin since I was seven."

As Dinky went to take her shower, Derpy trotted down the stairs and scowled seeing all the guest in her house. This included Dinky's best friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, as well as their sisters—or idol—and Rumble's brother, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Thunderlane. Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Lyra with her wife, Bon-Bon, and several more guest were with them as well as Dinky's teacher, Miss Cheerlie with her coltfriend, Big Macintosh.

Derpy narrowed her eyes upon seeing Rarity and Lyra. She hated Rarity; she thought she was a bitch who flirted with every stallion in town and had her nose so deep up her own ass that she could not see pass her selfishness. However, she calmed a bit as she saw Fluttershy softly wrap an arm around the mare and knew that as much as she did not like her, for Fluttershy's sake, she could tolerate her… unless she did something to hurt the mare.

Then she would tear her horn off and shove it so far down her throat she would shit out blood. The thought made Derpy smile. She was about to think another dark thought for Lyra Heartstrings, but her mental picture was cut off as she saw the Doctor trot up to her with a large smile.

"Hey, thank you very much for keeping Dinky distracted while I got everything set up. It means a lot to me… so where is the birthday girl? And thought I told you to wait until I came up," he asked with a chuckle.

Derpy explained that she was taking a shower and that she did tell him no promises.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What for? Didn't she take one this morning?" he asked, making Derpy chuckle, saying not to worry about it.

As the Doctor blinked and nodded, Carrot Top trotted towards the two and smiled at Derpy. "Oh, it's so good to see little Dinky be a teenager. She's going to have a bit of a struggle with growing up, but we will be there every hoofstep of the way, right Derpy?" she said as Derpy rolled her eyes and merely grunted, causing Carrot Top to frown but not speak.

The Doctor ushered the two to their hiding spots. Derpy was about to punch the Doctor in the face for touching her flank with his head when she heard her sister trot down the steps slowly and hid.

Just as Dinky reached the last step and asked where Derpy was, they all came out yelling surprise, causing the filly to jump in fright.

Derpy had a large grin on her face seeing her little sister jump for joy as she spotted her friends and everypony she knew, going towards her fellow Crusaders and hugging them. She blushed when Rumble hugged her, making Derpy smirk.

"And just to let you know, there is no alcohol in the party," the Doctor muttered.

She rolled her eyes before punching him in the left shoulder with a hoof. "Don't need it, Doc… but if you tell me I can't smoke in my own house, I'll throw you off a cliff," she sneered, making him chuckle.

"Jeez, thanks, that's how I always wanted to die," he replied.

Derpy smiled before looking and seeing her sister have the time of her life with those she cared about, dancing with her friends and chatting with fellow reliable ponies making her sigh, ignoring the ponies who tried to chat with her before going out the back down to her house, making sure to grab her a cigarette and a single match. The Doctor followed her out.

"You know, you really outdid yourself, Doc. I'm impressed… thank you," Derpy murmured and looked at the clouds in the blue sky above her.

The Doctor smiled. "Anytime, Derpy. I'm just helping a fellow friend out… I would have done the same for you," he answered.

Derpy rolled her eyes. Then, turning her head to the right, she gave his cheek a soft kiss, making him blink in shock and surprise. She smirked, lighting a cigarette and inhaling deeply, watching as he held a hoof to his face and smiled.

"What….what was that-?"

"Don't play stupid, Doctor Whooves. You know what it was for… guess you can say you deserve it… and you're not so bad looking," she answered, still with a somewhat snappish tone.

He grinned and quietly wrapped his left arm around her, making her freeze in shock before slowly leaning into the embrace.

"You're not pulling away. I'm impressed," he whispered, receiving a chuckle from her.

"To be honest, I don't really care. Besides, maybe it's time I got a stallion back in my life," she said quietly making him gasp. She sighed before punching him hard in the stomach.

He went to the ground wheezing as she rolled her eyes, inhaling the nicotine before exhaling it out her mouth.

"So I like you more than a friend and want to date you. But if you try to put a dress on me or sneak into my bed when I don't approve of it, and I'll throw you to the Timberwolves," she threatened into his left ear as he coughed.

She gave him a gentle peck on his check again, turning around and walking back into the party, leaving the Doctor coughing in pain but with a smile gracing his face.

She really was not a soft, caring, gentle mare like many he knew, but that did not mean she did not care about him. Derpy was different, more than any mare he had ever met in his life, and though he might be able to persuade her to give up drinking, though knowing she would rather die than give up her cigarettes. He prayed to the Gods that maybe one day, Derpy would be the mare that would stay by his side for the rest of their days.

The Doctor got up and looked into the kitchen window to see her carrying Dinky around on her back, her cigarette still in her mouth as she laughed at something the filly said to her, which made him smile. Despite her faults, there was something about the mare that made him really want to be with her and one day, heal her heart from the sins that dwelled within her.

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**Author's Note: Seriously very, very, very special thanks to Miss Dark Angel from Fimfiction dot com for doing the first half of this chapter as well as completely editing this entire story, as you can tell by her Goddess like detail, we all know she can write so much better then I can, don't try to deny it, Dark! Anyway, yeah...so this is the end of the story, if your expecting a happy, sappy, loving ending then you honestly don't know who I am or how I write.**

**Thanks to everyone who liked, faved or reviewed this story, hoping that you may stay for other works later on, may the Gods of Equestria bless and watch over you all, peace.**


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